Lord Shrubb3ry Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Hey, what would you guys recommend for someone who just wants to record some guitar and vocals? I was looking at pci cards because of asio2.0 and how fast that would be for my vsts. But I couldn't find any that also have a good port for a microphone, or phantom powered ones at that. Basically I need something that'll hopefully still use my 2.3 ghz quad-core processor speed for the vsts, but also be able to record guitar and vocals without slowing down my computer. I use FL Studio, have 4 gigs of ram and vista 64. I'm currently using the onboard sound with VIA HD Audio and asio4all. Firewire and usb 2.0 are cool too, I just am still clueless as to what I should get, even after researching all this for hours last night. Help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 And your budget in numbers is...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusK Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I highly recommend you look into a POD Studio Pro. Unless your budget is massive and you're willing to invest a good deal of time into learning how to properly record a cab with a mic, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossing Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 On a budget I reccomend a Lexicon (Alpha or lambada) and a SM57. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusK Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 SM57. Totally forgot about this. Great mic if you're on a budget. Hell, pretty good mic to have laying around even if you're not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixto Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Well I don't know what your budget is like, but I just installed a new PCI audio card in my tower and it works brilliantly. It's an RME 9632 with the optional XLR breakout cables. I have a tube condenser microphone connected to one XLR in, an instrument DI box connected to the other, XLR outs feeding my powered monitors, headphones connected to the TRS out, a POD HD500 (soon to be a POD HD Pro) connected digitally through S/PDIF in, and the S/PDIF out will be feeding back into the POD HD Pro for reamping dry tracks. Plus, the card has an 8-channel ADAT input just in case I ever need any more inputs. When I record at 96kHz I can do so with a 64 sample (1.45ms) buffer. When recording at 44.1kHz I can use a 32 sample (0.725ms!) buffer. That is some crazy low latency. And to top it all off, RME's AD/DA converters and drivers are some of the best in the business. I noticed a huge difference when I connected my monitors and headphones. This might be a somewhat pricey card, but you'd definitely be getting your money's worth. If it is too expensive but you're set on getting a PCI card, look into the M-Audio Delta 1010LT. Same basic idea as the RME 9632, just cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Shrubb3ry Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys. Holy shit that's fast Sixto. I'm currently buffering at 512 samples with 12ms latency. I can hardly imagine how awesome that sounds! I think I'll go with your suggestion then. However I do plan on recording my half stack through a mic. Do you think that would be a good setup for such? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixto Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Definitely. Since you're recording your amp and you'll be using that for tone and not a digital amp plugin, you don't even have to worry about latency since the RME 9632 also features zero latency direct monitoring. That means you can have your project up with all of its plugins and samples, set to a high buffer (even higher than 512) to conserve on CPU usage and still get no latency while recording your amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I was very much considering the RME hammerfall that sixto posted, but I ended up not going with it for a few reasons. While it has ridiculously clean sound and stupid low latecnies, the limited number of inputs killed it for me. I needed at least 5 audio inputs, so I stayed with my M-Audio Delta 1010LT. The latency is a bit higher (I run at 64 samples/2.4ms) but I get 8 audio ins as well as S/PDIF input and zero latency monitoring. The Hammerfall really comes in handy when you're going purely via digital inputs, you get 10, which is very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Shrubb3ry Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Since I'm mainly only going to be recording guitar, the hammerfall sounds perfect. Thanks again for the suggestions guys, I can't wait to finally put some guitar into my music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Shrubb3ry Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 *Edit* Disregard. Got a reply from RME (before they ignored me). Thinking I'll pick this one up, MicTube Duo, along with a separate phantom power unit (so both mics aren't ph-powered, when the switch is on) Thanks anyways. (original post) Hate to ask you guys for help again, as you've already been helpful and I'm a total noob to recording, but I just can't find any solid answers anywhere else. I got the 9632, just got the SM57 and AT2035 in today, along with the xlr breakout cable. I've got my SM57 plugged in through that, but after playing back the recording I can barely hear my guitar at all, and the amp is at a fairly good volume. Do I need to buy preamps? (/op) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixto Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Yes, I would definitely grab a nice preamp for your mic. I have one of these. They're pretty great, you can blend between tube and solid state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Shrubb3ry Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Sweet, just got paid and ordered two of those. Pretty sure that's everything I need for recording guitar now. Thanks again for the advice Sixto. I can't wait to finally record and add guitar into my music, whooo!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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